School has been crazy these past few months and I've barely had time to read. I'm way behind on my reviews and it's causing me to feel pretty guilty. I know blogging is a hobby but I feel an obligation towards books I received from Netgalley since they were nice enough to approve my requests. I've finally admitted to myself that I do not have the time to review books in great detail so I'm going to start doing mini-reviews. These are going to be short snippets about whether or not I liked the book and if I think you should read it, sort of like if I was talking to one of my friends. I'm not sure how well this is going to work but I figure it's better than not reviewing at all. I just got accepted into graduate school so my time is going to be even more limited in the fall but I refuse to give up blogging entirely. I would miss this community of readers way too much if I did. Thank you all for sticking with me and I'm going to try my hardest to provide you all with new content. Now let's get on to the reviews:
December 21, 2011
Source: Netgalley & Random House
Since accepting a
teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie
McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A
mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive
stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly
satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of writing
her bestselling book, The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. After
all, Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales
and Gothic literature—which is why she finds herself at Fairwick’s
renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house
that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.
But Callie soon
realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an
incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the
very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: He’s
not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of
the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to
cast out the incubus, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more
difficult—banishing this demon lover from her heart.
- Juliet Dark is the pseudonym of Carol Goodman who writes historical novels
- I read The Sonnet Lover way back when and loved it so I was eager to read The Demon Lover
- Smart and sexy story that involved fairy tales and myths
- Lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing
- Major cliff hanger that left me wanting more
- Recommended to fans of paranormal romances and erotica
April 10, 2012
Source: Netgalley & Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Amid the mayhem of the
Civil War, Virginia plantation wife Iris Dunleavy is put on trial and
convicted of madness. It is the only reasonable explanation the court
can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent away to Sanibel Asylum
to be restored to a good, compliant woman. Iris knows, though, that her
husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of
disagreeing with him on notions of justice, cruelty, and property.
On
this remote Florida island, cut off by swamps and seas and military
blockades, Iris meets a wonderful collection of residents--- some
seemingly sane, some wrongly convinced they are crazy, some charmingly
odd, some dangerously unstable. Which of these is Ambrose Weller, the
war-haunted Confederate soldier whose memories terrorize him into wild
fits that can only be calmed by the color blue, but whose gentleness and
dark eyes beckon to Iris?
The institution calls itself modern,
but Iris is skeptical of its methods, particularly the dreaded "water
treatment." She must escape, but she has found new hope and love with
Ambrose. Can she take him with her? If they make it out, will the war
have left anything for them to make a life from, back home?
Blue
Asylum is a vibrant, beautifully-imagined, absorbing story of the lines
we all cross between sanity and madness. It is also the tale of a
spirited woman, a wounded soldier, their impossible love, and the
undeniable call of freedom.
- Immediately caught my eye when I saw it was set during the Civil War since I am a huge history nerd!
- I've visited Sanibel Island in Florida so I quickly connected with the setting
- Ever since I started a project at my job I have become fascinated with insane asylums
- Detailed gruesome treatment of the patients
- The main character was Iris but I was also interested in the minor characters
- Great love story between Iris and her soldier
- Beautiful writing style
- Recommended to people who enjoy historical novels set in the South
January 31, 2012
Source: Netgalley & St. Martin's Press
Miss Cecily Hurston
would much rather explore the antiquities of Egypt than the uncharted
territory of marriage. But the rules of her father’s exclusive academic
society forbid her entrance unless she weds one of its members. To clear
her ailing father’s name of a scandalous rumor, Cecily needs to gain
admission into the Egyptian Club—and is willing to marry any old dullard
to do it.
Lucas Dalton, Duke of Winterson, is anything but dull.
He’s a dashing and decorated war hero determined to help Cecily—even if
that means looking the other way when she claims the dance card of
Amelia Snow, this season’s most sought-after beauty. But Lucas has a
reason for wanting Cecily to join the Egyptian Club: His brother went
missing during one of Lord Hurston’s expeditions to Egypt. An alliance
with the explorer’s bluestocking daughter could bring Lucas closer to
the truth about what happened…or it could lead him to a more dangerous
love than either he or Cecily could have imagined….
- I never get tired of reading romances about strong-willed women; pretty sure they're my favorite
- Egyptian mystery and intrigue
- Awesome side characters that are going to be in the next two books (can't wait!)
- Good old fashioned sexual tension
- Super engaging plot that wasn't just about the romance
- Recommended to people who like sexy times in their mystery novels
